How do you know when to give up on business?

About a month ago I had a pretty cruddy time with my business. There were a few things that happened to create a perfect storm of misery. It was one of those times where annoyance just piles on top of let-down and it’s difficult to maintain a positive outlook.

It was about this time that I started to wonder, how do you know when to give up on business? Because as most of us business-owners know – running a business is like being a dog with a bone – we just refuse to give it up, no matter what state the bone!

I decided there must be a few ways that one could determine if it was time to throw in the towel:

1. Your mental health is suffering and there’s no foreseeable relief.

2. You are not making any money and you would like to or need to, and there’s no foreseeable relief.

3. You need to spend money to update your website, engage a marketing/SEO guru etc and you have no money left.

4. You aren’t spending the time and energy on your kids/husband that you want and are not happy with this current arrangement anymore.

5. You’ve seen a business broker, like Denise Hall, Entrepreneurial Mother and she recommends it’s the time to sell.

The most important point though is that you need to set these guidelines down before you start business, or at the very least shortly after. For example, if I don’t increase profit by $5 000 every year I will no longer run the business or if I spend more than six nights a month/year in floods of tears because of my business I will cease trading.

Having this written out somewhere you see it will be a timely reminder that you need to, at the very least, assess your situation should you reach this point. As opposed to not having a plan and spending three more years in business whipping a dead horse.

So, I’ve got mine down now and the next time I have a down period, at least I can compare it and go, am I there yet?

11 Responses to How do you know when to give up on business?

There have been several times in the last few months when I’ve wondered whether I’ve done the right thing by closing my business. Thanks for the clarification! Ticking 1, 2 and 3, plus a flood or two of tears a week, every week, for months, probably means I made the right decision (add another one, when your partner’s health is also suffering).

Of course, if you get on another downer Alli, make sure you rally your supporters to help you through it. We believe in you and we’ll have no problems reminding you of how awesome you are!

This is a really honest insight into the viable options when there are problems without solutions for a business or for your own personal well-being. Often we just keep pushing on rather than assessing the situation as you have to make a finial decision. A great Motivating Mum article. x Judi.